Noted oncologist Eric Raefsky killed in Wilson crash

Authorities have issued criminal charges after a crash that killed a celebrated physician that cared for some of the region's most vulnerable patients Tuesday night in Wilson County.

Troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol said Clayton Rogers was driving on Stewarts Ferry Pike around 9 p.m. when he ignored a traffic signal at South Mt. Juliet Road and slammed into the driver's side of a car driven by Dr. Eric Raefsky of Hermitage.

The impact forced both cars into a ditch on the shoulder of South Mt. Juliet Road, according to the preliminary crash report. Raefsky, 59, was killed.

Raefsky was a noted oncologist with Tennessee Oncology. Colleagues remember him as a brilliant physician and a dedicated philanthropist.

"In a profession of caring and giving of ones self, Eric stood out as exemplary," said Dr. Mark Reiber, a friend and former colleague of Raefsky's at Summit Medical Center, in an email. "Summit Medical Center, Hermitage, Wilson County and all of Nashville has lost a true hero."

Troopers on the scene found evidence that alcohol and drugs could have been in Rogers' system at the time of the crash, according to the report. Analysts are testing his blood.

Rogers, 20, was arrested and charged with felony reckless endangerment. He was also cited for failing to yield to a traffic signal.